1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for juice or mineral water produced by a blow molding method or the like, in particular an improvement of a container capable of being compressed in a longitudinal direction (being reduced in volume) after drinking up its content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sales of synthetic resin containers have been increasing considerably in recent years. However, when juice or mineral water in the body of a container is drunk and the container is thrown away, the shape of the container body remains the same, and in case of throwing such a container away in a trash can, the trash can looks as if air is dumped in it. The trash can will be undesirably fulfilled soon, and in the end, such containers will be thrown away out of the trash can, which might deteriorate our life environment, and in addition, the cost of collecting drained containers and the labor cost for cleaning are problematic in public services.
Also, this kind of synthetic resin container can be manufactured by a simple means such as blow molding, but on the contrary, the strength of the container could not yet be said satisfactory for transportation by vehicle which is accompanied by violent vibration or for stacked display in stores.
Furthermore, when containers are transported from a container manufacturer to a bottler of juice or mineral water, the containers take up much space, which results in increasing the cost of transportation.
It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to reduce extremely the volume of a container body remarkably, when juice or mineral water in the container body is drained and the container body is thrown away, and to increase the number of the container to be thrown in a trash can.
At the same time, that makes it possible to transport a large number of empty container bodies at a time, so it is also an object of the present invention to make it possible to reduce the collection cost and the labor cost thereof.
It is also an object of the present invention to increase a quantity of container per transportation from a container manufacturer to a bottler of juice or mineral water.
Furthermore, the object of the present invention is to make it possible to maintain a compressed shape of a container body without providing the container body with a restoring force after the volume of the container body is reduced.
It should be appreciated that the entire shape of the container body of the present invention is selected from a circular cylinder including an ellipse, a rectangular column, a circular cone and a pyramid, and the horizontal cross sectional shape of the container is selected from a circle including an ellipse and a rectangle.
Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to enlarge the surface area of the container, compared to a conventional one, on which a label showing contents, a trademark or the like is fixed or on which its contents or a trademark is directly printed.
Also, it should be appreciated that the container body of the present invention has a good appearance, can be prevented from failing when being used, can prevent its contents from spilling out, and can maintain a compressed state in its longitudinal direction, and a compression method thereof is provided.
The present invention is characterized by that a force in one direction acts on a piece of the plate members connected by folds constituting an accordion-shaped portion of a container body and/or a part of its inner periphery, while a force in the opposite direction acts on its outer periphery, when a force from the substantially right-angle direction thereof is applied to the accordion shape, thereby a compressed state of the container body in a longitudinal direction is maintained.
Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by that the accordion-shaped portion of the container body has one diameter thereof smaller than the other diameter.
Still further, the present invention is characterized by that the accordion-shaped portion of the container body has one diameter smaller than the other diameter, and equal to a lower diameter, by increasing gradually as it approaches the other.
Still further, the present invention is characterized by a compression method of a container capable of maintaining a compressed state in a longitudinal direction wherein a force in one direction acts on a piece of folds constituting the accordion shape and/or a part of inner periphery, while a force in the opposite direction acts on the outer periphery thereof, when a force from a substantially right-angle direction thereof is applied to the accordion-shaped portion of said container body, thereby a compressed state in a longitudinal direction is maintained.
Still further, the present invention is characterized by a compression method of a container capable of maintaining a compressed state in a longitudinal direction wherein a force in one direction acts on a piece of the plate members connected by folds constituting the accordion shape and/or a part of inner periphery, while a force in the opposite direction acts on the outer periphery thereof, when a force from a substantially right-angle direction thereof is applied to the accordion-shaped portion of said container body, thereby a compressed state in a longitudinal direction is maintained.
Still further, the present invention is characterized by that the horizontal cross sectional shape of the container body is selected from a circle including an ellipse, and a rectangle.
Still further, the present invention is characterized by the one comprising a container body provided with a tap portion projecting upward from the middle portion at the top end, and horizontal accordion shape formed on the inner and outer wall of the container body, over the whole length in the longitudinal (height) direction or a part thereof, except the tap portion, wherein the accordion-shaped portion of the body has an upper diameter thereof smaller than the lower diameter, and increasing gradually as it goes downward; a force acts downwards in the inner diameter direction of the plate members of accordion shape of the upper part, and downwards in the outer diameter direction, when the force from a substantially right-angle direction is applied to the accordion-shaped portion of said container body; and the force acts upwards in the inner diameter direction of the plate members of accordion shape of the lower part, and upwards and downwards in the outer diameter direction, for maintaining a accordion shape where the length (height) of said container body is compressed.
It should be appreciated that for the container body of the present invention, in case of carrying or holding it after having drained a part of, for example, juice, the container body can be compressed by the amount of drained quantity thereof; therefore, the present invention is also characterized by that its volume to be carried or held can be reduced as much.